Recent data undermines the Pentagon's claim that its vaunted abortion travel compensation policy was a military necessity, experts and lawmakers told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
In a six-month period from June to December 2023, service members took advantage of the controversial travel policy 12 times, costing the Department of Defense (DOD) just under $45,000 during that period, the Defense Department said. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications made the announcement on Tuesday.
While Pentagon officials spent precious time defending their policies against a hostile Congress and withstood months of protests to approve senior staff appointments, experts and lawmakers said they would She commented that in hindsight, the fight over abortion rights appears to have been more problematic than it was worth. DCNF.
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“Even if Pentagon travel grants are used many times rather than just a few times, our military power does not depend on servicemembers having abortions,” Elaine Donnelly, director of the Center for Military Readiness, told DCNF. Ta.
“The number of people who have taken advantage of this policy is minimal and contrary to the Biden administration's rhetoric,” said a statement sent Wednesday by Republican Mississippi Sen. Roger Wicker's office.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed concern about the military's “readiness and resiliency” in a statement following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Supreme Court decision, which gave states the power to regulate abortion. His argument, and that of his fellow leaders, was that military personnel had little control over their military posts. Women may be less likely to serve in the military if they are likely to be assigned duty in states that severely restrict or ban abortion.
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Austin announced that military members and their dependents will be able to claim travel expense reimbursement in October 2022 when they travel out of state to receive certain assisted reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization and abortion. In the memo, he made the promise. It cited the potential impact of a landmark Supreme Court ruling on military readiness aimed at protecting “seamless access” to abortion.
This policy took effect in February of the following year. An accompanying directive authorized commanders to provide additional leave time to these service members.
“Military members and their families have no control over where they are stationed, and the nature of military service requires frequent travel and movement to meet operational requirements,” a Pentagon press release said. It has been stated. The Pentagon initiative would give pregnant service members “time and flexibility to make civilian health care decisions” and access civilian abortion providers regardless of where they are stationed.
Pro-life Republicans argued that the Pentagon was trying to circumvent state and federal laws that prevent the government from paying for abortions, drawing it into a partisan political issue.
The policy also triggered a fight between the Pentagon and leading lawmakers, with senior Pentagon officials calling the impact “horrible.”
“It's devastating. It's terrifying. I would like to think of a stronger term if possible,” Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said in November.
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In March, Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville imposed a unilateral lockdown in protest of the policy. His tactics have disrupted the Senate's normal process for mass approval of nominations for hundreds of generals and flag officers, preventing them from being promoted and, in many cases, filling positions nominated by the Biden administration. prevented that.
Pentagon officials argued that the hold had significant national security implications. Even fellow Republicans largely agreed, arguing that unilateral blockades cripple the military during a global crisis and harm those who cannot control the plans of the Pentagon's civilian leadership.
The holdout did not end until December, leaving disgruntled politicians unable to move the Pentagon on the abortion issue.
Republican lawmakers remain frustrated with the Pentagon's unwillingness to release numbers to support its claim that restricting abortion access is a national security risk.
“I sent letters requesting information justifying the Department of Defense's abortion travel policy on March 1, 2023, September 15, 2023, and October 27, 2023, but the questions were incomplete, I received only evasive or no responses at all. ” Wicker, ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in a letter to Austin dated Monday.
Wicker said the Senate Armed Services Committee received information from the Army that three service members took advantage of abortion travel restrictions between August and December 2023, charging a total of $2,097.
Defense officials did not respond to DCNF's questions about the letter, saying the Pentagon would raise the issue directly with Congress.
“Ensuring service members have access to health care, including reproductive health care, is critical to readiness. This travel provision has been utilized 12 times,” a defense official told DCNF.
Tuberville said in a letter to Austin in December 2022 that the policy could prompt up to 4,100 abortions a year, CNN reported. RAND Corporation researchers said Tuberville overestimated the number of women in the military who receive abortions outside of military health facilities each year, based on a 2020 study, but this study Even Sarah Meadows, a senior sociologist involved in the study, estimated it to be close to this. Up to 2,000.
“While the government broke decades of precedent for using taxpayer funds to promote abortion, we now know that this program was rarely used. “It's more of a show of political virtue in the lead-up to the 2022 midterm elections, and it's clear that the Republican Party has confronted highly controversial issues rather than focusing senior leaders on combat.” said Florida Congressman Michael Walz, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. Services Subcommittee on Readiness told DCNF.
The policy took effect in early 2023 to counter anticipated abortion access restrictions as states began to further restrict access, but over the six-month period in which the Department of Defense tracked usage. It cost about $44,791, Defense Department deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Tuesday.
Pentagon spokeswoman Jade Hulse said in an email Thursday that dependents and companions were reimbursed for actual costs of lodging, meals, and round-trip transportation, but service members are required to pay for non-covered reproductive procedures. He said that it became.
The statistics record the number of times the policy was used, not the number of service members who took advantage of it, and each female soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine used the policy more than once. Singh said the possibility remains. The funds were used to cover accommodation, transportation and meals during the holidays.
“This issue is about power politics and precedent,” Donnelly said.
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